François Noël (missionary)

François Noël (born August 18, 1651 , † September 17, 1729 in Lille ) was a Belgian Jesuit who was missionary in China from 1684 to around 1708 . In addition to this activity, he wrote numerous theological writings, he continued to devote himself intensively to the study of Chinese history and philosophy. In the so-called ritual controversy , like many other Jesuits, he tried to justify an adaptation (accommodation) of Catholic teaching to Confucian rites in order to avoid that Chinese Christians are separated from their culture.

His most important translation work, Sinensis Imperii Classici sex (Six Classics of the Chinese Empire) is a milestone in the history of translation: For the first time, the so-called " Four Books " - and thus also the work of Menzius (Mengzi) - were completely translated into a European language. This translation had a great impact: shortly after it was published in Prague in 1711, the work was reviewed by Christian Wolff (Acta Eruditorum, March-May 1712); Furthermore, it became the basis of Wolff's “Speech on the Practical Philosophy of the Chinese” in 1721. Noel's translation was detailed in the encyclopedic work “Description de la Chine” by Jean-Baptiste Du Halde (Paris, 1735, vol. 2) paraphrased and was thus able to influence important thinkers of the 18th century. Confucian thought, for example, became an important source of inspiration for the founder of economics, François Quesnay (1694–1774) and David Hume (1711–1776), who is considered one of Scotland's leading enlighteners.

François Noël is one of the most important cultural mediators between China and Europe in the early 18th century; His translations had a lasting influence on the Enlightenment in Europe, as they renounced a theological interpretation and thus painted a picture of a philosophy that, without God and Church, had given an ancient culture continuity and social stability.

Works

• Sinensis Imperii Classici sex (The six classical books of the Chinese Empire, reprint), Olms-Verlag, Hildesheim 2011.
• Philosophia Sinica Tribus Tractatibus (Chinese Philosophy in Three Treatises), Online .

literature

• Paul Rule: François Noël, SJ and the chinese rites controversy, in: WF Vande Walle and Noël Golvers (eds.): The History of the Relations between the Low Countries and China in the Qing Era (1644-1911), Leuven ( Löwen ) 2003, pp. 137-165, ISBN 978-90-5867-315-2 .